


Take a Moment

by SunnyStories



Category: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2021-01-29 13:51:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21411229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunnyStories/pseuds/SunnyStories
Summary: Natsuki is rude and imprudent. She's been a thorn in Yuri's side since the day she joined the Literature Club. All true, and yet, something was missing. The puzzle that was Natsuki was only half complete.
Relationships: Natsuki & Yuri (Doki Doki Literature Club!), Natsuki/Yuri (Doki Doki Literature Club!)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 54





	1. Take a moment to reflect

**Author's Note:**

> I've left this for so long, but I finally got back and made some edits. Hope you enjoy...

A single moment can change your life.

For instance, winning the lottery changes your life instantly.

Leaning too far on a faulty railing can drastically change your life.

Finding the one you love.

Yuri never quite understood how her life could be changed in a single moment. However, when it starts to happen to her, she can’t help but feel like she wasn’t prepared.

* * *

The first moment was finally noticing the fear in Natsuki's eyes when someone raised their voice. Yuri had ignored the signs before because it was easier to write the smaller girl off as a rude and imprudent child. Which meant that Natsuki suffered alone for longer.

* * *

_“Alright everyone, let’s share our poems!”_

_Both Sayori and Yuri perked their heads up to their leader’s declaration and started to dig out their poems to share. As the two of them made their way up, they looked back at the closet door to see that it was still closed. They waited a few moments, before looking back at their president, who was sliming. If anyone looked closer, they would notice a slight twitch on the left eye of the hazelnut-haired girl. _

_“Natsuki! We said that the club meeting is starting!” Monika was not one to be loud, but she was getting annoyed that Natsuki was always the last to join. _

_“A-Ah! S-s-sorry!” Natsuki blabbered out, while digging through her bag. When she approached, Yuri thought she saw something strange flash across the younger girl’s face as she studied Monika’s expression, but figured it was nothing. “U- um… B- but you should have let me know sooner!” _

_Yuri was confused why the apology turned into a defence so quickly. She let the thought fly into the air since it was time for them to share poems. _

_“_ _Natsuki!!!” Sayori shouted angrily as she ran towards the pink haired girl. _

_“W-what?! I’m sorry! W-wait, I didn’t do anything!!!” _

_“I missed you! You didn’t text or call me all of break!” As Sayori ran into the girl for a tight hug, Yuri noticed Natsuki wince at the contact. Her face contorted to show the pain she was in. Yuri pulled slightly at Sayori to ease the pressure a little bit. The bell rang, and the girls made their way into their own classrooms. _

_ “How dare you!?” Yuri shouted at the girl in front of her. “The books I am reading are intricate stories and develop a world of their own and you call them trash?!” _

_“Y- Ye-” Yuri could see the fear in Natsuki’s eyes as she tried to retort. She wished she could ignore it, to leave it alone completely and never look back. In a way, it would make her life so much easier. However, the guilt compelled her. _

_It all clicked in Yuri’s head like the final puzzle snapping into its place. _

_Fear of people shouting. _

_The bruises not quite, but almost, hidden (she would notice, she knew how to hide scars). _

_Constantly fainting. _

_Always being hungry. _

_The way she talked about her father. _

_Being so resistant to letting people in. _

_This girl in front of her was scared. Her father was doing something to her. She had read up about how people traumatized people behave. Natsuki fit the bill. _

_Realization was one thing. Now she needed to know what to do next. Before Natsuki could finish her retort, Yuri just pulled her into a hug. A soft one. _

_“Wh-”_

_“Shhh… I apologize for the volume I used. And for ignoring this,” She softly pressed at one of the fresh injuries she had noticed on the smaller girl when they were changing into their PE clothing, “for so long. You deserve better.” _

_Confusion went to understanding, followed by rejection. Natsuki pushed Yuri off. _

_“Th-that’s just something I got from falling off my bed!” _

_Gently, barely a whisper, Yuri continued, “Have you been doing that often this past year?” _

_“H-How do you know I’ve had them so often, you perv!” Natsuki quickly ran out of the clubroom with her bag. Yuri finally noticed the other two girls in the clubroom who were watching the events unfold. Yuri had completely forgotten they were there. Both looked shocked. _

_“I-”_

_“I can’t believe you did that Yuri!” Sayori shouts, “I mean… I think we need to approach it differently if we want her to accept our help here. It took me until about a month ago just to get her to share her troubles with me. If you really, really want to help, I think I know a way that we all can.” _

_“Can I speak this time?” Eyes turn to Monika, “What are you guys even talking about?” _

_“Natsuki is being abused.” Yuri put it bluntly. _

_“And we know this how?” Monika looked like Yuri likely just a few minutes ago, figuring out all the little signs that were ignored until today. _

_“Monika, you’ve seen all the warnings, and I’m sure Sayori can confirm a few things, since she’s talked to the source directly.” Monika nodded along to that. Sayori nodded and affirmed what Yuri had said. _

_“So… this is what we should do…” _

_“I am sorry, I was out of line last meeting,” Yuri bowed her head at Natsuki. _

_“Fine. I forgive you. Just don’t do anything that stupid again.” Yuri nodded at that and repeated an apology. _

_Sayori’s plan was simple, but lengthy. She would had to befriend Natsuki to get her to open up more. There was no other way that the smaller girl would accept any help. From friends or otherwise. _

_So, she set the plan in motion. **It took a month or two…**_

** _With fun moments together_ **

_“So then, this final boss comes out of nowhere that we’ve never seen before and the author just wants you to believe it’s all been foreshadowed even though there was none! Who writes like that?” _

_“I concur. That sort of writing is off-putting. I prefer my story’s plots to remain realistic, even in such a fantasy setting.”_

_“And what’s worse is that the main characters just get a power-up out of nowhere! They become the best and most powerful without even doing anything!” _

_“Honestly, we could write better than that, and we should!” _

_“Yeah! But I bet mine will be a hundred times better than yours!"_

** _And some fights along the way_ **

_“Goddamn Yuri, sometimes you just need to shut it!” _

_“Natsuki, that’s very rude. I was simply explaining how your poems could be livened up a little bit if you drew your metaphors using a different synonym…” _

_“It’s my style and I’ll stick with it, thank you very much Ms. Snooty McTits.” _

_“Why are you so obsessed with my breast size?” _

_Natsuki spluttered a little bit at that. _

** _Some very awkward moments_ **

_Natsuki said goodbye to her classmates that she was walking with and reached for the door handle, not quite looking where her hand was going. _

_At the same time, Sayori was pushing Yuri out the door to go talk to Natsuki more. _

_Unfortunately, Natsuki’s hand went right onto Yuri’s chest, and Natsuki quickly whipped her head around, but froze. _

_“I would appreciate it if you would retract your hand from my bosom, it is rather inappropriate.” Yuri patiently explained. _

_Natsuki quickly squeaked out an apology and tried to back up, where some rather big student were, who then bumped Natsuki forward. In the chaos that ensued, Sayori was flung back onto the floor. Natsuki fell onto Yuri, her face on Yuri’s belly as they both tumbled back as well. Her hand slipped onto beside Yuri’s head. As she steadied herself, she found herself face to face with Yuri and thought, **‘Fuck, she’s so pretty.’ **_

_Yuri, in turn, gazed at Natsuki’s eyes and maintained their position until Natsuki pulled away, apologizing and quickly trying to recompose herself. _

** _But finally, Yuri was able to break through Natsuki’s barriers and befriend the girl…_ **

_“There’s something I would like to say before we begin club today…” _

_“Of course, Natsuki. You don’t have to announce that you’re going to say something through.” Monika assured. _

_“I think I had to for this one.” Natsuki took in a deep breath, “I talked to Sayori about this before and she encouraged me to share…” _

_Everyone observed as Natsuki seemed to hesitate with the decision and saw her looking around as if she was scared someone was around that would hear what she wanted to say. A deep sigh followed her cautiously looking around. _

_“My mother had an accident when I was younger. Since then, I have been living with my dad…” Natsuki closed her eyes and took some more deep breaths. Sayori went to her side and squeezed her hand. “And since then, he’s progressively gotten worse. It was just light drinking at first, but now it’s almost 3 bottles a day. When he’s sober, he’s already on my back… But when he’s been drinking, well, let’s just say you already know.” _

_With that, Natsuki pulled up the hem of her shirt to reveal some fresh bruises. Yuri and Monika winced at seeing them directly for the first time. _

_“I just wanted to be honest about what was going on…” _

_The club members took turns hugging Natsuki and assuring her that they would help in any way that they could. Sayori and Yuri offered to take her in if she needed a place to stay when things weren’t **great** at home. _

_Yuri felt that it was worthwhile when she saw how much more genuine Natsuki’s smiles were after she was able to free herself by sharing what was going on. _

_And through those few months that Yuri had started to get closer to Natsuki, Yuri realized one other thing…_


	2. Take a moment for your loved ones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The heart grows fonder...

The second moment that changed her life, even more sudden than the first, was when she noticed that her eyes were looking at Natsuki fonder. She was fond of her friends, but not this fond.

_Yuri had Natsuki over to do some cooking. It wasn’t uncommon for Natsuki to come over to her house now, even if her father was being **tolerable**. _

_“And then, you just mix it a lot… into oblivion!” Natsuki showed the technique of mixing and was going at it very rapidly. _

_“Ob-blivion?” Yuri tilted her head as she observed Natsuki, “Ah, okay, I get it. Just mix it well.” _

_Natsuki pouted at Yuri not playing along, but Yuri adored it when the pink-haired girl did that. She actually adored it a lot. _

_After they were done with making pancakes (as Natsuki said, breakfast for dinner is ‘where it’s at’), they settled onto the couch to watch Princess Mononoke. Yuri watched in horror and amusement as Natsuki poured **half a bottle of syrup** onto her pancakes and then put more whipped cream on top of that. _

_“Does that amount of sugar not interfere with sleeping or upset your stomach?” _

_“This is the best way to eat pancakes!” Natsuki countered as the movie started to play. Natsuki scarfed down her pancakes in record time as usual, while Yuri paced herself. As the movie played, Natsuki started to inch closer to Yuri, until Yuri finally felt the younger girl’s head on her shoulder. She glanced over to see closed eyes and shallow breathing coming from her most recent friend. Deciding to leave it be, she continued to watch the movie intently. Once the movie was over, Natsuki was still asleep._

_“Hey…” The taller girl nudged the shorter gently, “You should be heading home.” _

_“Nooo…” Natsuki whined sleepily, “Stay here. I want to stay. Please don’t send me home…” _

_“Okay Natsuki,” Yuri gingerly picked up the small girl, “Anything for you.” _

_And she meant it. _

She knew what it was. She could curse and deny it, but sometimes the truth shines through anyway.

* * *

_Throughout those few months, Yuri tried to invite Natsuki to spend time with her many times. The usual place was during the club. This was where they could share their main interests, literature (if manga counts, which Yuri still had doubts over) and creativity. Despite her previous condescension of Natsuki’s simple writing style, Yuri was very envious of creating deeper meaning using simple language. She still loved her own style, but the smaller girl’s style had a lot of merit that she simply did not want to admit before. _

_ “I am deeply impressed by this new piece,” Yuri held the poem up like she was going to announce what was written on the page. _

_“H- huh?...” Natsuki was caught off guard from the compliment, “Of course, everything I write is amazing.” _

_“I would **love** it if we could work on a piece together,” Yuri followed one of Sayori’s suggestion on how to get closer to Natsuki. _

_“Are you sure? Your writing is all… complicated and strong. I’m not sure if they’ll work together…” _

_“I believe we could make it work!” _

_“I mean… Do we know each other well enough?” Natsuki’s words seemed to have caught Sayori’s attention, who sprang up beside Natsuki. _

_“How about you take part in each other’s interests to get to know each other better?” The thought of that terrified Yuri. _

_“Y-you mean I have to read manga?” _

_“Hey! Are you so closed-minded that you can’t even try manga? You’ve watch some anime with me already…” _

_“Natsuki, are you telling me you’ll partake in horror stories with no issues?” _

_“Urk! I might have a little bit of trouble, but I can definitely try.” _

_“If Natsuki is willing to give it a try, I would hypocritical for always saying she’s not willing to try anything other than manga if I did not do the same,” Yuri had her hands clasped together the whole time. _

_“Then it’s official! You can recommend something to each other!” _

_Following Sayori’s encouragement, the two made plans to go to a bookstore to pick out books for each other. _

_The months to follow helped the two grow closer as they shared their respective interests. While they didn’t get completely enveloped into each other’s interests, it was more important that they at least tried. _

_Often, the pair would find them at Yuri’s house. It was a clear guess as to why Yuri was never at Natsuki’s place. Fortunately, it was easy for Yuri to coax Natsuki into eating something, even if it was just snacks. Eventually…_   
  


_“Oh Natsuki, is this where you eat lunch?” Yuri found her foil dozing off under the stairway. “Mind if I join you? I usually eat alone.” _

_“H-huh? Y-yeah. Do whatever you want,” Natsuki looked a little startled as she was caught off guard. _

_“Are you already finished eating…?” Yuri knew the answer. In fact, she only asked so she would be able to get Natsuki to say… _

_“Uh… ye-” Natsuki stopped herself from finishing her lie. She knew the taller girl would be able to see through it anyway, “No… Papa won’t be home all week and left nothing in the house.” _

_“Hmm…” Yuri nodded as she pulled out her lunch, “Well, it seems I packed a little too much today. Would you like some?” _

_Bringing out the two sandwiches she had brought for the day, she waved one in front of Natsuki. Of course, she had planned to bring extra with Sayori and Monika’s help for ingredients, but they knew Natsuki would never accept the help outright. _

_“Sure… Just for today. And I’ll pay you back as soon as I can.” Natsuki accepted the sandwich, while Yuri hummed in response to her. _

_As time went on, Yuri would often bring an “over-stuffed lunch” that she would offer to Natsuki during their break or at club. She even got Natsuki to take some things home with her. _

_It made a small difference, as the paleness started to disappear on the pink-haired girl. Unfortunately, the bruises were not disappearing. _

_Natsuki would often come over to give Yuri cooking lessons. According to her, “It’s abysmal that you’re literally eating a desert in between some pieces of bread everyday.” _

_While the help was appreciated, she wasn’t sure how she felt about Natsuki’s description of her lunches. Yet, Yuri still saw Natsuki as someone she cared for deeply since they had started to become friends, and deeper now as her fondness for the girl grew. Even if the girl drove her crazy sometimes, or tried to put up a tough front, Yuri noticed all the kindness that hid underneath, begging to be noticed. She felt silly for not noticing before. _

_“You don’t want to cook today?” Natsuki asked, tilting her head a little. Yuri noticed how cute that was. _

_“No, I just wanted to spend some time with company, talking,” Yuri was working hard at being patient. She wanted Natsuki to tell her everything, but it was difficult to be patient. _

_“I hope it’s not about mushy things…” _

_“We can put on a bad movie and ridicule it while we talk if that helps?” _

_“You want to trash a movie? Yeah I’m so in, I wanna see what you have in store.” _

_It was difficult to steer the situation into **abuse** territory as they watched the movie. They talked about school, classes, friends, literature, but none got personal. Suddenly, Yuri felt Natsuki’s head rest on her shoulder. It wasn’t an uncommon scenario, as the smaller girl fainted often when they were reading together and she hadn’t had enough food or when she dozed off to movies. This time, she was awake. She was also crying. _

_“N-Natsuki?” _

_“No… Not yet…” And on that cue, Natsuki sank her head into Yuri chest and cried. She bawled her eyes out for a long time, and it felt like forever to Yuri. Yuri felt completely helpless and like her whole world was ending at the sounds. She tried to soothe the emotional girl by softly stroking her hair. After ‘forever’, the crying finally died down and Yuri waited apprehensively. _

_“I’m sorry,” An intake of a deep breath, “I lash out at you so much. I don’t mean to. But I can’t stop… You already know why. I don’t think I even have to tell you.” _

_At that, she pulled the collar of her shirt down to show a fresh bruise. _

_“He came home and tripped on a bottle he had left himself. He said he had a bad day at work and he was tired of me not cleaning up like I was supposed to. First, I thought it was just going to be some shouting. It didn’t end there, though. He pulled me by my hair and slammed me into the kitchen counter.” _

_Looking at the injury, Yuri could imagine how roughly Natsuki was treated. In response to that reveal, Yuri simply pulled the other girl closer to her, whispering, “You don’t deserve that.” _

_“But I do. He wouldn’t be doing it otherwise. He was always so kind before.”_

_“No parent should ever raise their hand to their child. This is abuse.” _

_“How do I make it stop?” _

_“I can-” Yuri hesitated, “I- I don’t know…” _

_“…” The silence gave Yuri some time to think. _

_“You’ll be graduating soon, so can’t you move out?” _

_“I have no place to stay. I don’t have enough money to move out and if I left, I don’t know how he would react,” Natsuki was visibly shaking at the thought. _

_“I think you need to see our counsellor first. She might be able to help you with some of that. Sayori and I can offer you a place to stay until you are on your feet. We can help you. We can also find a way to help you at home while you’re still there. We are here for you.” _

_Tears had started to stream again as Natsuki hung on tighter. _

_Yuri felt dumb. She had already berated herself for failing to notice that Natsuki was being abused at home. Now she realized that she failed to recognize that she had crush on that same girl. She felt weird, not because she liked a girl (she was well aware where her attractions lay), but a girl she thought she hated just a few months previously. It was graduation, and despite her usual timid nature, Yuri was going to be forthright. _

_“Natsuki, sorry for the sudden notice, thanks for coming,” Natsuki walked into Yuri’s house and accepted the offer for a snack that followed. They sat at the table and talked about the literature they recently read. _

_After they had finished eating, they went to the living room. _

_“So, what’s up?” Natsuki asked as she flopped herself on Yuri’s couch. Yuri hesitantly took a seat beside her. _

_“Natsuki, I like you,” Yuri said without hesitation, almost too directly. She realized that was sudden and cursed herself for it. _

_Natsuki went quiet after that, hiding her face. The older girl realized the blunder she made in inviting Natsuki to **her house** to **confess**. They should have gone to a more neutral place, like the park or something. Yuri got more lost in her thoughts as she waited for Natsuki to acknowledge what she said. Was this a huge mistake? Was this silence going to last an eternity? Yuri’s mind raced to how she was going to lose Natsuki’s friendship and trust for having such thoughts about her when she was supposed to be a good friend. _

_But she also wanted something deeper… “N-Natsuki? D-Did you hear me?” _

_Natsuki looked up at her with annoyance on her face. “Yeah, I heard you!” _

_“Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you…” Yuri’s heart was racing faster than it ever had before. “I apologize if that made you uncomfortable. Oh no, I’ve made a terrible blunder. Ah! Of course it would turn out like this... But don’t worry, nothing has to change! And we can keep being friends… or I can leave if you want me to.” _

_“It’s your house, dummy,” That didn’t help Yuri regain her composure at all, “And that was two apologies already.” _

_“…Are you angry at me?” _

_“Yeah, I am!” _

_“Ah! Oh no… This isn’t how it was supposed to go… I should’ve planned this better…” Yuri got up to try and leave, but Natsuki grabbed onto her arm before she could escape. _

_“You don’t have to run away, silly,” Natsuki said as she pulled the taller girl back onto the couch. _

_“But don’t you hate me? You said you were angry, and I messed this all up. Why would you want me to stay?” _

_“First of all, I never said I hated you. I am angry because I had an elaborate plan to woo you during graduation and confess to you, and you ruined it!” _

_“Wha-” But she was interrupted by soft lips that crashed into her own. _

_Shortly pulling away, Natsuki kept glaring, “There was going to be balloons! And a lot of streamers. It would have been super romantic.” _

_Yuri’s mind was in shambles because of the anxiety earlier. She was processing what happened. Natsuki was going to confess to her? She had gotten to it first! And she was going to do it in an extravagant way. Once Yuri’s mind finally caught up to her, she started to laugh. _

_“How dare you laugh a-” This time, Yuri was the one to interrupt with her own kiss. _

_“It’s because you’re so endearing,” Yuri chuckled after she pulled away. _

_“As payback, you have to get me that yummy milkshake we got before from Yuna’s,” Natsuki crossed her arms. _

_“Gladly.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately, I haven't been able to work on Chapter 3 much yet so it may not come for a week or so. Fortunately, I have made improvements in my schedule to allow me to write more! 
> 
> I am having issues with my practicum as well, so I hope to solve that as well.

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 2 of this is also done, and I will be posting it in the coming days as I work on chapter 3 and try to finish that. I have a week off from my practicum, but still have a lot of work to get done, so I wanted to try and get some writing done!


End file.
